Suresh Raina On MS Dhoni:
Former Indian middle-order batsman Suresh Raina on Tuesday (April 14) said Mahendra Singh Dhoni was busy making improvements to his batting style during the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp that was abruptly called off due to the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus.
Speculations about the future of the former Indian skipper are rife if the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 gets postponed due to the extension of the lockdown of coronavirus until May 3.
“He’s been batting very well, Cricket’s still left in him, He’s looked innovative, We’ve played practice games and those sixes are as high as they were. Three hours of batting in the evening, that’s not easy in Chennai heat, even though we’ve done that (during the camp) if you ask me, Mahi Bhai’s batting brilliantly,” Raina said in a live Instagram session.
“His body doesn’t show any signs of aging, he looked different and tried to do something else, something special, something new, and people will get to know when they see him,” Raina said.
It can be recalled that under Dhoni’s leadership, Raina was a big part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Speaking of his own future, Raina expressed confidence that he will make a comeback in the T20 team ahead of the World Cup scheduled to take place in October. Raina, 33, also hit out at the selectors for failing to give any clear reason why he was axed from the national side after the 2018 England tour.
“I’ve played for 14-15 years. Under Dada (Saurav Ganguly) then Mahi Bhai … they always used to tell me what was wrong. Virat (Kohli) does that too, but the selectors don’t do that all the time. They should have taken on more responsibility (when dealing with) about senior players. You need to know why you’re not batting in nets one fine morning.
Where to bat, what to do? Someone has to give us information,” Raina said who represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20s.
Raina also praised young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and said, “Rishabh Pant is very talented. Someone has to step up and guide him. When I used to play, Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) paa used to tell me you make mistakes and we will guide you. So Rishabh should be backed. He has hundreds abroad and he is not a fluke player. Somewhere I think he is not getting confidence..he is missing something.”
